The British Muslim Initiative (BMI), a U.K. Muslim Brotherhood organization, has issued a statement condemning what it calls Israel’s “shocking war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.” According to the statement:
The British Muslim Initiative (BMI) is utterly appalled by Israel’s escalation of collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza and killing nearly 68 Palestinians in recent days. On Saturday, it sealed all crossings into Gaza, preventing even UN trucks from delivering food aid to the 80% of the population who depend on UN food aid to survive. We demand an end to the economic siege and military attacks that are claiming the lives of innocents daily in the territory. This latest deprivation of the most basic needs of Gaza’s impoverished residents is being used as a pressure tactic by the Israeli government which, according to Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, said that this cruel punishment would continue “without compromise, without concessions and without mercy”. BMI President Muhammad Sawalha said, ‘It is an established tradition among Israel’s military and political elite that whoever wants to rescue or advance their careers must do so at the expense of Palestinian lives.’ ‘We are horrified that member states of the European Union (EU) should in the 21st century support an economic blockade of an entire people in order to appease an illegal military occupation,’ Sawalha added. The BMI salutes the heroic struggle of the Palestinian people to regain their freedom and independence. We are convinced that Israel’s incumbent prime minister would fail as his predecessor to break their will. The BMI calls upon British Government and European Union to take urgent measures to end the shocking war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.
As is usual with Muslim Brotherhood statements on this issue, no mention was made of rockets fired by Hamas and other Palestinian groups into Israel. It should also be noted that the BMI president, Muhammad Sawalha, has long been identified as a former Hamas military commander.